Hormones Are Behind Hernias in Elderly Men

[Jinzang]

Cancer research on mice unexpectedly led to an explanation of inguinal hernia. Aromatase inhibitors can prevent the post-operative reoccurrence of hernia, said researcher at recent meeting of the Endocrine Society.

Researchers have identified an apparent cause of inguinal hernia, or groin hernia, in older men: altered sex hormone levels that weaken and scar muscle tissue in the lower abdomen. "We have discovered that both increased estrogen action and decreased testosterone action leads to inguinal hernia formation," said Hong Zhao, MD. As men age, their estrogen levels increase and their testosterone levels drop. The researchers found that their mouse model mimics the increased estrogen formation in the tissue and the decreasing blood testosterone levels seen in elderly men. Furthermore, when they looked at the rodents' muscle tissue from the lower abdomen, they found tissue atrophy (weakening) and fibrosis (scarring), comparable to that observed in human muscle tissue specimens from patients who had undergone inguinal hernia operations.

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[Leesto]

I find that interesting because I developed an inguinal hernia prior to going on TRT. I don't know what my estrogen levels were at that time but clearly testosterone was way low.